Science Spotlight

The California Fish and Wildlife Journal concludes its 2021 Special Issue installments with the winter quarter’s Special Issue: Effects of Human-Wildlife Interactions on California’s Natural Resources: Conflict and Coexistence (PDF). With this year’s unprecedented drought, unpredictable fire season, climate change, pandemic response, and increased human-wildlife conflict reported statewide, issue 107-3 is salient and timely. In this Special Issue, we explore various interconnected themes across four sections: Terrestrial Predator Interactions, Conflicts & Adaptive Management, Coexistence & Conservation, and the Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conservation.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) serves as the lead state agency charged with helping to resolve human-wildlife conflict, public safety, and reported depredation (property damage) and committed to advancing discussion and deeper understanding of human-wildlife interactions throughout the state. People live increasingly in close contact with animals, both wild and domestic, as the human population expands along the wildland-urban interface and increases over time. This reality has led to increased human-wildlife interactions and reported  human-wildlife conflict. Negative human-wildlife interactions can directly affect human and wildlife health and may result in loss of livelihood, reduced wellbeing, or in some instances, loss of life – animal or human.

Come read about the various types of human-wildlife interaction, some of the unique challenges – and opportunity – to better address understand and address human-wildlife conflict. Various agency partners, practitioners, researchers, and key stakeholders have contributed their expertise to this Special Issue. We hope you recognize the myriad factors that can shape our perception and approach to wildlife in California. Learn more!

The California Fish and Wildlife Journal has published high-quality, peer-reviewed science for more than 100 years – and the CDFW looks forward to more valuable contributions ahead.

###

California is home to more native animal and plant species than any other state in the nation. It also hosts the most endemic species—species that occur nowhere else in the world. However, our incredibly diverse native wildlife is facing an intensifying array of stressors stemming from human activity: habitat loss, new land uses like cannabis cultivation, invasive species, wildfires, drought and so many others. Wildlife managers can mitigate these threats through actions like conserving and restoring habitat, building relationships with private landowners and managing ecosystems for resilience to wildfire and climate change. But, to effectively target management actions, managers need to have high-quality information on wildlife populations across the state.

In two studies recently published in the California Fish and Wildlife Journal, Vol. 107-2 (PDF), researchers with CDFW’s Cannabis Program and Wildlife Diversity Program focused on this need for effective wildlife data collection.

One study focused on monitoring small terrestrial vertebrates, like small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Traditionally, researchers have monitored these species through live-trapping and visual encounter surveys. But such time-intensive methods are not always feasible. Recently developed methods that use automatic cameras are one alternative. To determine how well cameras perform compared to more traditional methods, CDFW researchers tested two methods alongside each other: 1) visual encounter surveys, where they searched for reptiles and amphibians in a study area, and 2) camera traps, which combined small strips of fencing with close-focus cameras pointed at the ground. They found that the camera system detected far more species of small animals compared to the traditional surveys.

In a second study, researchers compared different methods for monitoring birds. Traditionally, researchers have used point counts, where trained observers identify every bird they hear or see at a location. Researchers are also increasingly using acoustic devices to automatically record bird sounds. Recently, machine learning tools have enabled computers to identify bird sounds from these recordings, allowing people to indirectly identify birds while saving much time and effort. In their study, the CDFW researchers found that low-cost recorders performed comparably to expensive ones, and that a machine learning tool accurately identified high numbers of bird species from the recordings.

The researchers will apply what they have learned and shared to a new statewide monitoring effort, which is being developed by CDFW’s Cannabis Program. These advancements will enable a more efficient wildlife monitoring effort that saves money and time. And most importantly, with the information gained from improved monitoring, CDFW staff and other wildlife managers will be able to make more informed decisions to help our native California wildlife cope with current and future challenges.